Dining with a view

Pastoral or gourmet restaurants, all set in scenic mountain-top villages.

These pastoral or gourmet restaurants are all set in villages perched atop hills. Well worth climbing… for lunch or dinner. There are places you would never visit without meaning to.

You decide to go and are delighted the moment you get there and experience it. How about a visit to a “back-home” style restaurant, the real McCoy, or maybe you prefer the glitz of master-chef cooking ?

We owe Philippe Labbé from “La Chèvre d’Or” a superb Mediterranean sea bass broiled in Colonna bacon with a fresh smooth “ovar” pea sauce, and his fricassee of mushrooms lined with cream of ham.

The food from Jean-Marc Delacourt (Le Parcours) wavers between simplicity, refinement and elegance and blends with beautiful decoration and an amazing view.

(1) Philippe Guérin, chef at “La Commanderie” (Château du Domaine St Martin), prepares his fricassee of lobster in basil, jelly in ravioli on a gazpacho of tomatoes in old sherry vinegar, and Norwegian lobster roasted in country bacon with a reduced sauce of balsamic vinegar and grapes. (2) Rest assured, the little stuffed dishes from the chef at Mas d’Artigny haven’t changed, but go for the roast Norwegian lobster and fricassee of girolle mushrooms in white Porto and fresh chives.

In the first case, the key-word is discovery. Your route will lead you to Coaraze, a charming mid-country village famed for its sun-dials. And the address just happens to be “L’Auberge du Soleil”. Here they serve savoury vintage fare such as home-made terrines, young rabbit stewed in wine or cod and potato pie with garlic and caper purée. The “Niçois” flavour continues at the “Logis Sarrasin” on the rocky needle of Sainte-Agnès. The inevitable “pissaladière” (onion tart) is backed by white beet pie, ravioli stew and rabbit with herbs. Just before moving into Italy, stop off at La Turbie. Bruno Cirino has settled into a 13th century priory built by the Monks of Lérins, now called Hostellerie Jérôme. The dining-room is the old chapel and the flower-bedecked terrace gives onto the Mediterranean. Formerly with the Negresco and Royal Monceau (amongst others), Bruno Cirino does his shopping each morning down in the town of Vintimille. Depending on the season, he will rustle up a risotto of mushrooms and local asparagus, vegetable pie with 15 different vegetables or young pigeon in rosemary served with cep mushrooms and dark olives. Christian and Thomas Milo (chef and pastry chef) have proven their inventiveness in their aptly named “L’Authentique” restaurant. Everything is cooked with farmyard and organic products and the vegetables come from their own garden. On your travels, don’t forget Saint Paul, where a perfume of nostalgia hangs over “La Colombe d’Or” : here the names of show-biz stars from the post-war years still float in the air. The garden is still fabulous and the cooking has all the charm of reined-in tradition. The food at “La Toile Blanche” carries the Lenôtre label, a token of quality which, combined with the tranquility of this old refurbished Provence-style house, gives the place its personality. “Le Nid d’Aigle” boasts a breathtaking view over Cap d’Antibes and the Lérins islands, a panorama that takes the recipes from Antoine Bato to new “heights”.

Star ratings

These rated restaurants are blessed with idyllic surroundings, talented chefs and an aura unlike any other. They include “Le Candile”, where Serge Gouloumès (15/20 in the Gault & Millau guide) conjures up subtly spiced Italian-cum-Provencal dishes. Award-winning chef Francis Scordel at “Le Mas d’Artigny” has added a dash of modernity to his dishes. At “La Commanderie” at the Château du Domaine St Martin, Philippe Guérin (once with Alain Llorca) serves up the whole Mediterranean in four recipes. In leaving “La Chèvre d’Or” to move to Falicon, Jean-Marc Delacour was taking a risk, but so far his “Parcours” is just perfect. “La Chèvre d’Or” needed a chef to measure up to the name. His name is Philippe Labbé, seconded by pastry chef Cédric Campanella, and his Mediterranean cooking is wonderfully light and fresh. The terraces are renowned for their beauty and sea-view over Cap Ferrat, Cap d’Antibes and as far as Saint Tropez.

By Cécile Olivéro - Photos : press.